The Women’s Center and the African American Cultural Center have partnered to bring “The Politics of Black Hair” to NC State. The exhibit will run through March 21, 2018 in the African American Cultural Center Gallery on the second floor of Witherspoon Student Center.
“Our hair is a visual representation of our Blackness and how we manifest all of our glory,” said Angela Gay, assistant director of the Women’s Center. Despite this manifestation, wearing natural Black hair has often been considered unprofessional.
NC State professor and filmmaker Natalie Bullock Brown said the rejection of Black hair took root in the biased beauty standards of society. Adjectives like “wooly,” “nappy” and “coarse” were associated with Black hair.
Black hair is a symbol of nonconformity and resistance toward the expectation to assimilate. Last year in Massachusetts, twins Deanna and Mya Cook faced repercussions for wearing an African braided hairstyle to school. According to The Washington Post, the girls were told that the braids were a “uniform infraction” and “distracting.” The Cook sisters refused to remove their braids.